400th anniversary of the Baptism of Grand Chief Henry Membertou

Friday, July 09 2010

On June 24 2010, members of the CCCB Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council joined the crowd of approximately 500 in attendance for celebrations in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Baptism of Mi’kmaq Grand Chief Henri Membertou and 20 members of his family. Celebrations included Mass and a re-enactement of the Baptism of Grand Chief Membertou in Mi’kmaq, French and English, followed by a Mi’kmaq cultural demonstration.

Celebrations continued throughout the weekend on the Halifax Commons with Mass and the largest Pow-wow ever held on the East Coast. More celebrations are planned throughout the province, including at Chapel Island on August 1 where Pope Benedict XVI will be represented by his Special Envoy, His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who has recently been appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

For more information, please visit www.membertou400.com.